Total weightloss is now at 38lb in 11 weeks and this marks the 12th week of fasting.
Monday – Fasting Day
- B – Tea
- L – Mushroom soup, 3 slices roast pork loin
- D – Baked chicken, leek and potato hotpot, steamed veg
- S – 2 Ryvita with Laughing Cow Light Blue, white coffee x 2, diet pepsi
Tuesday – Standard Dieting Day
- B – Coffee, 2 soft boiled eggs, 2 x toast with Laughing Cow light, fruit salad
- L – tuna and light mayo crudities and crispbreads
- D – gammon, egg, pineapple and actifry chips (there may be asparagus!)
- S – 2 Ryvita with Laughing Cow Light Blue, milk 100ml, cheese curls
Wednesday – Fasting Day
- B – Tea
- L – Mushroom soup, sugar free jelly
- D – Fasting day risotto (recipe will follow)
- S – 2 Ryvita withLaughing Cow Light Blue, white coffee x 2, diet pepsi
Thursday – Standard Dieting Day
- B – Coffee, turkey rasher BLT fruit salad
- L – tuna mayo, crudities and crispbreads
- D – homemade burgers with light cheese, pitta, salad and actifry chips
- S – 2 Ryvita with Laughing Cow Light Blue, milk 100ml, cheese curls
Friday – DAY OFF!
Not my usual day off but we are going out with friends 🙂
- B – Coffee, hot cross buns with butter
- L – Cheesy eggs and beans on toast
- D – fish, chip and mushy peas from the chippy
- S – far too much alcohol and all that entails!
Saturday – hungover dieting day 😉
- B – Sausage sandwiches
- L – stuffed jackets
- D – chicken and butternut squash curry , spiced potatoes and poppadoms
- S – gin and slimline if I can face it…
Sunday – Standard Dieting Day
- B – Sausage sandwiches
- L – Roast beef, yorkshire puddings and all the low fat trimmings.
- D – crumpets with low fat cheese
So there you have it, Sunday lunch not accounted but you get the general idea. I will be posting recipes for some of the meals not already on the blog 🙂
It can be a struggle trying to decide what to eat on fast days. I think meal times are about more than just the food, they are social events and as such I try to make them as inclusive as possible. As I have posted before I like my food nicely presented too. So fasting day dinner has to be filling, tasty, look great on the plate, look like a “proper” meal and be family friendly too. Is that too much to ask? lol
It may not be but it can be hard trying to find the balance. So here are a couple of my favourite 300 calorie (ish) meals. I’ll add a few more of these later in the week
Fish, Chips and Mushy Peas
Yes that’s right. Fish is very low in fat and you get a lot in terms of weight for your calories. I go for cod loin which is more expensive than fillets but there are no bones, skin or waste. 100g per person is plenty. I simply heat a non-stick frying pan, spray the fish with frylight and fry on each side for a couple of minutes. That’s it. Keep movement to a minumum so that the fish does not break up and it’s fine. No need for additonal oil, batter, breadcrumbs etc.
The chips I cook in my trusty actifry but you can par boil chips and spray with frylight and then bake.
The mushy peas I make myself as I am a Yorkshire girl and they are known as Yorkshire Caviar 😉 plus the tinned ones just do not taste the same. I will be making a fresh batch this week and may very well blog the results
So there you have it
Actifry chips – 175g (144 cals)
Cod loin – 100g (98 cals)
Mushy Peas – 50g (43 cals)Frylight – 2 sprays (2 cals)
Total – 287 calories
Chicken and Chips
Once again the actifry is called into service but with the addition of some seasoning in to make the fries more exciting. I use garlic granules and paprika, I also add a bought cajun s
pice mix to the chicken. The chicken is butterflied to make it as thin as possible and then griddled with frylight for a couple of minutes. This meal is one I serve with my current obsession of asparagus with Parma ham. I take 4 spears, trim the fat from the Parma ham and wrap around the asparagus. These are then dry fried with the chicken or roasted in a hot oven for 10 mins until the ham is crisp and the asparagus tender
Actifry chips – 175g (144 cals)
Skinless chicken breast – 100g (106 cals)
Asparagus – 4 spears (13 cals)
Parma Ham – 1 27g slice (33 cals)
Frylight – 2 sprays (2 cals)
Spices – approx (5 cals)
Total 303 Calories
The spices may not be exact but the value for the Parma ham is just for the slice not for the trimmed slice so I am sure it more than balances out.
It’s that meal planning time again folks. Another week including fasting days and one Feast Day. I’m aware that having the feast day does slow my weightloss BUT without it I doubt I would have the will power to get through the fasts. So it’s swings and roundabouts. This works for me. It may not work for you.
Current obsession of the moment is for Parma Ham wrapped asparagus, I trim all the fat off and make one slice do for 4 asparagus spears but it is so simple and so tasty either dry fried or stuck in the oven for 10 minutes. My eight year old son prepared them on Saturday. Fortunately no one in my family can smell the unpleasant side effects of asparagus… LOL
Monday – Fasting Day
- B – Tea
- L – Spicy tomato soup
- D – Cajun chicken, cajun actifry scalloped potatoes, asparagus in Parma ham 😉
- S – 2 Ryvita with one Laughing Cow Light Blue, almond milk 100ml, white coffee x 2
Tuesday – Standard Dieting Day
- B – Coffee, 2 soft boiled eggs, 2 x toast with Laughing Cow light, fruit salad
- L – tuna with light mayo, crudities and crackerbread
- D – roast ham, roasted new potatoes, salad, hard boiled eggs, corn on the cob, asparagus in Parma ham 😉
- S – 2 Ryvita with one Laughing Cow Light Blue, milk 100ml, cheese curls
Wednesday – Fasting Day
- B – Tea
- L – Mushroom soup
- D – Cod, chips and mushy peas
- S – 2 Ryvita with one Laughing Cow Light Blue, almond milk 100ml, white coffee x 2
Thursday – Standard Dieting Day
- B – Coffee, Turkey rasher BLT, fruit salad
- L – tuna mayo, crudities and crispbreads
- D – Southern style chicken in a bun with actifry chips, cheese, salad, asparagus wrapped in Parma ham 😉
- S – 2 Ryvita with one Laughing Cow Light Blue, milk 100ml, cheese curls
Friday – Standard Dieting Day
- B – Coffee, fruit salad
- L – tuna mayo, crudities and crispbreads
- D – Sizzling sirloin steak with mushrooms in oyster sauce with egg fried rice.
- S – Gin and slimline, milk 100ml, cheese curls
Saturday – – DAY OFF!
- Brunch – actifried LF sausages in sandwich form
- Dinner – Tempura king prawn with wasabi mayo, duck breasts with five spice, salt and pepper chips, sour plum and hoi sin sauce
- Wine 🙂
Sunday – Standard Dieting Day
- B – Turkey bacon and egg sandwich
- L – Sausage, mash and onion gravy
- D – Chilli bowls with cheese and salad
I will be posting recipes for some of the meals not already on the blog 🙂
I’ve already posted about the cauliflower and broccoli soup I make for fast days. It’s a great soup and very filling but I do like a little variety in my soups so here are a few other options at around 50 cals per serving
Mushroom
- 250g chestnut mushrooms
- 2 tsp marigold bouillon powder
- 1 pint water
- Few turns of black pepper
That’s it. Slice the mushrooms, add those stock and water and cook until tender. Remove a few pieces and then blitz the rest. Once smooth add the reserved slices and season with the pepper to taste.
Makes 2 huge portions – 39 cals per serving.
Courgette and Parmesan
- 2 large courgettes
- 2 tsp marigold bouillon powder
- 1 tbsp grated Parmesan
- 1 pint water
- Few turns of black pepper
Cook the courgette in the water and boullion, when tender blitz until smooth add the parmesan and season with pepper to taste.
Makes 2 portions – 46 cals per portion
Curried Butternut Squash
- 200g butternut squash (seeds removed)
- 2 tsp marigold bouillon powder
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1 pint water
- Few turns of black pepper
Cut the squash into chunks no need to remove the skin it’s perfectly edible in soups. Add the curry powder, bouillon, water and coo when tender blitz until smooth add the parmesan and season with pepper to taste.
Makes 2 portions – 55 cals per portion
Basically bouillon powder, veg and a little seasoning is all you need to make soup. You don’t need to cook the veg in oil, add butter, cream or thickening. You can if you like but save it for a feast day 😉 These are all free on Slimming World no matter which plan you follow too.
Another week of fasting, I’ve done 9 already and feel amazing 🙂 I’m not saying that it’s easy the fasting but it’s not as hard as you may think. The secret is planning. If the food is ready, shopped for and worked into your normal routine then you are more likely to stick to it. Don’t plan on fasting when you know you will be eating out, or doing huge amounts of exercise, or will not be able to prepare. Don’t try to make it up as you go along you will end up grazing and using calories on nothing much. Do check calories as some things are surprisingly calorific whilst others are actually quite low. For example an apple can be between 70-90 calories but 1/4 of a galia melon is around 50, this can make a huge difference when you are limiting calories.
On non-fasting days I will be eating my current obsessions which are soft boiled eggs and soldiers for breakfast and crackerbread for lunch. I tend to do this, eat the same thing for ages. I think you may remember my roasted veg couscous phase 😉
Monday – Fasting Day
- B – Tea
- L – Pea and mint soup, sugar free jelly
- D – Cajun turkey breast steak, cajun actifry scalloped potatoes, asparagus in parma ham
- S – 2 Ryvita with one Laughing Cow Light Blue, almond milk 100ml, white coffee x 2
Tuesday – Standard Dieting Day
- B – Coffee, 2 soft boiled eggs, 2 x toast with Laughing Cow light, fruit salad
- L – smoked salmon pate, crudities and crispbreads
- D – pasta bake, salad, doughballs
- S – 2 Ryvita with one Laughing Cow Light Blue, milk 100ml, cheese curls
Wednesday – Fasting Day
- B – Tea
- L – Mushroom and parmesan soup, sugar free jelly
- D – Cod, chips and mushy peas
- S – 2 Ryvita with one Laughing Cow Light Blue, almond milk 100ml, white coffee x 2
Thursday – Standard Dieting Day
- B – Coffee, 2 soft boiled eggs, 2 x toast with Laughing Cow light, fruit salad
- L – tuna mayo, crudities and crispbreads
- D – braising steak, root vegetable mash, veg
- S – 2 Ryvita with one Laughing Cow Light Blue, milk 100ml, cheese curls
Friday – Standard Dieting Day
- B – Coffee, 2 soft boiled eggs, 2 x toast with Laughing Cow light, fruit salad
- L – tuna mayo, crudities and crispbreads
- D – chicken kebab, pitta, roasted veg and spicy chips
- S – Gin and slimline, milk 100ml, cheese curls
Saturday – – DAY OFF!
- I think it may involve this 😉
Sunday – Standard Dieting Day
- B – Sausage sandwiches
- L – TBC
- D – slow cooked lamb, roasted new potatoes, veg
So there you have it, Sunday lunch not accounted but you get the general idea. I will be posting recipes for some of the meals not already on the blog 🙂
I love smoked mackerel and this pate is an all time favourite in my house. Perfect as a starter for 4 or a lunch for 2.
Ingredients and approximate cost
- 145g smoked mackerel fillets (£2.50)
- 50g Quark (2op)
- juice of one lemon (15p)
- 1 tsp horseradish sauce (5p)
Total cost £2.90 all ingredients marked * are optional and can be changed according to taste.
Total calories 444 – so depends on how much you eat and if its a starter (111) or lunch (222)
Remove the skin from the mackerel and break into chunks, add the rest of the ingredients and blitz until smooth. Done!
The calories given are based on the weight AFTER the skin is removed when the weight was 145g
Variations
- any smoked fish can be used
- Omitting the horseradish if preferred but it does add a nice zing
- use tinned tuna and try wasabi instead of horseradish – it’s nose tinglingly goood
Slimming World
For some reason smoked mackerel has Syns, smoked salmon does not, fresh mackerel does not. I have no idea why this is but you will need to syn it by weight or use smoked salmon. The hot smoked salmon is the best for this 🙂
Total weight loss is at 28lb or 2 stone! Colour me tickled pink and I’m once again motivated to carry on fasting.
Monday – Fasting Day
- B – Tea
- L – Mixed salad with one turkey rasher
- D – Prawn Satay stir fry
- S – a pack of cheese curls, 2 Ryvita with Laughing Cow light blue and 6 grapes, 100ml almond milk
Tuesday – Standard Dieting Day
- B – 2 poached eggs, two slices of toasted hovis and mushrooms
- L – tuna sandwich on hovis with pickles and salad, pack of cheese curls
- D – sausage casserole made with low fat sausages, paprika wedges, broccoli and sweetcorn
- S – Fruit salad, 2 Ryvita with Laughing Cow light blue and grapes. 100 ml milk
Wednesday – Fasting Day
- B – tea
- L – Courgette and pecorino soup (low carb version)
- D – Cod, Chips and mushy peas
- S – a pack of cheese curls, 2 Ryvita with Laughing Cow light blue and 6 grapes, 100ml almond milk
Thursday – Standard Dieting Day
- B – Coffee, Shredded Wheat with almond milk
- L – ryvita with smoked mackerel pate
- D – piri piri chicken with rice and roasted vegetables
- S – a pack of cheese curls, 2 Ryvita with Laughing Cow light blue and 6 grapes, 100ml semi skimmed milk
Friday – Standard Dieting Day
- B – Melon and Strawberries
- L – Scrambled egg on toast
- D – Pork fille in Parma ham, cheese and leek pasta
- S – cheese curls, 100ml semi skimmed milk, 6 oz gin with diet tonic
Saturday – – DAY OFF!
- B – Bacon and egg on toast
- L – A Happy Meal 😀
- D – Out for an Indian meal
- S – WINE!
Sunday – Standard Dieting Day
- Brunch – Bacon, scrambled egg, beans, mushrooms and toast
- D – Chicken wrapped in bacon with garlic and sage roast potatoes and asparagus in Parma ham
- S – a pack of cheese curls, 2 Ryvita with Laughing Cow light blue and 6 grapes, 100ml semi skimmed milk
I will be posting recipes for some of the meals not already on the blog 🙂
After a whacking 6lb weightloss last week I am super motivated this week and so here are this weeks meals.
Monday – Fasting Day
- B – Tea
- L – Cauliflower and broccoli soup
- D – Chicken in Parma ham, lentils with porcini and thyme, asparagusS – a pack of cheese curls, 2 Ryvita with Laughing Cow light blue and 6 grapes, 100ml almond milk
Tuesday – Standard Dieting Day
- B – Honey Nut Shredded Wheat with semi skimmed milk and an apple
- L – Leftover lamb casserole with mashed potato
- D – Pasta Bake with salad and crispy potato skins
- S – a pack of cheese curls, 2 Ryvita with Laughing Cow light blue and grapes. 100 ml milk
Wednesday – Fasting Day
- B – tea
- L – Cauliflower and broccoli soup
- D – Cod, Chips and mushy peas
- S – a pack of cheese curls, 2 Ryvita with Laughing Cow light blue and 6 grapes, 100ml almond milk
Thursday – Standard Dieting Day
- B – Coffee, Shredded Wheat with milk, fresh fruit salad
- L – Roasted vegetable couscous, chicken tikka and leftover cherry tomato sauce
- D – Beef root vegetable stew
- S – a pack of cheese curls, 2 Ryvita with Laughing Cow light blue and 6 grapes, 100ml semi skimmed milk
Friday – Standard Dieting Day
- B – Coffee, Turkey rashers BLT
- L – Leftover beef stew
- D – Steak, chips, steamed veg and pepper sauce
- S – cheese curls, 100ml semi skimmed milk, 6 oz gin with diet tonic
Saturday – – DAY OFF!
- B – Coffee and almond croissant
- L – Pie! My eldest has been asking for pie 🙂
- D – Pizza
- S – WINE!
Sunday – Standard Dieting Day
- Brunch -LF sausage sandwich
- D – Chicken, tomato and chorizo casserole with paprika roast potatoes and veg
- S – a pack of cheese curls, 2 Ryvita with Laughing Cow light blue and 6 grapes, 100ml semi skimmed milk
I will be posting recipes for some of the meals not already on the blog 🙂
The butternut squash in this curry gives it a lovely creamy texture whilst the addition of spinach and potatoes adds a lot of bulk meaning that you can cut back a little on the meat.
Ingredients and approximate cost
- 350g diced boneless and skinless chicken or turkey (can be breast or thighs) £3.00
- 1 medium butternut squash (80p)
- 1 red pepper (40p)
- 2 red onions (50p)
- 300g potatoes peeled and cubed (50P)
- 2-4 tsp Garam Masla (or your spice mix of choice)
- 1/2 tsp dried chilis
- Splash of white wine vinegar
- 300g baby spinach leaves (£1)
- Water
- 100g Total 0% Greek Style Yoghurt (or similar) (50P)
Serves 4 large portions – total cost £6.70
Calories per portion 242
The Spice Mix
I use chili, ginger, cardamon, ground coriander, cumin, garam masala, garlic and cinnamon in this recipe. If you don’t have all these available then use Garam Masala (or just a generic curry powder)and add garlic, ginger and cinnamon. I use.
- 2 tsp Garam Masala
- 2 tsp garlic granules
- 1/2 tsp dried chilli
- 1/2 tsp coriander
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger (or l a good squirt of lazy ginger or 1/2 inch grated ginger root)
- 1/2 tsp ground cardamon (if I remember, it’s in the garam masala any way)
Mix it all together and put into a dish for use later. If using wet ingredients such as the lazy ginger, mix to form a paste.
Cut the squash in half and deseed – there is no need to peel which is a bonus as they are hell on earth to peel. Spritz with frylight and place on a baking tray, place in a hot (200 degree) oven and roast. After 15 minutes the pepper and onion, these should have been quartered and spray the whole lot again with frylight. Leave for 15 minutes and then turn the oven off but do not remove them.
In the meantime, add your spice mix to a large frying pan or wok and toast slightly to release the flavours, once you start to smell them add the cubed chicken and seal, making sure the meat is well coated in the spices. Add the chicken to a slow cooker and deglaze the pan with a little water to ensure all the flavour of the spices is kept.
Remove the roasted vegetables from the oven and place in a bowl or jug, blitz until smooth with a hand blender adding water as required until it has the consistency of Heinz Tomato soup. In other words it should thickly coat a spoon
Pour over the chicken in the slow cooker, and then add vinegar and the cubed potato. It should be fairly liquid as the potatoes will absorb some of the water and thicken the sauce.
Leave for 2-3 hours checking occasionally to ensure that there is enough liquid.
Just before you are ready to eat stir in the baby leaf spinach as the heat of the curry will cook it, remove from the heat, add the yoghurt and serve.
Slimming World this is free on EE – (serve with rice or wedges/jacket potato) or wholemeal chapatti as an HE
Variations
- this is lovely with fish substituted in place of the chicken but add only for the last hour of cooking
- sweet potato can be used in place of normal potato
- if using normal spinach instead of baby leaf steam it and chop a little before adding
- Green beans make a lovely addition to this as do mushrooms and baby corn if you wanted a totally vegetarian version
Of all the comments I get about my food the one thing that stands out is that people think it looks great, really appetising. I am really pleased to hear that as I do take time to make sure my food is presented well as well as tasting good. I am a firm believer that the first bite is taken with the eyes. I like to look at my food, smell it and appreciate it before I even taste it. I shudder when I see the food that some people eat.
It has been made with love or at the very least in the hopes that it will be enjoyed. Time has been taken preparing it so why just throw it on a plate any old how in a big unappetising looking lump. Yes it will rprbably taste the same but will it be enjoyed as much? I don’t think it is. I certainly wouldn’t. For a start I am actually quite fussy about what I eat and I want to decide what will mix and how. I like a bit of seperation on my plate with each component clearly defined. That may make me odd but I don’t care. This is not workhouse gruel slopped into a bowl. Food is not just about keeping you alive.
I know that there are people out there that genuinely don’t care, they may even eat food directly from the pan or even the can but I’m not one of them. I also like to sit at the table when I eat rather than in front of the TV. I like the rituals surrounding food as much as I like food. Table manners, using the correct silverware, napkins etc fill my heart with joy. I also much prefer plain white plates and dishes. Patterned ones distract from the food and look messy. This once again is my opinion. I also prefer the plates to be oval. Daft isn’t it? Oh and don’t get me started on my collection of types of glasses which must be used for specific drinks… *weep*
Finally and the reason for this post, the reason I like to arrange and present food is because you can make it look like there is a lot more on the plate. This is especially vital when you are fasting. Sitting down to a small plate of food look depressing and psychologically you feel as though you will not be full. Spread it out with nice presentation and the plate looks fuller and you actually feel fuller at the end. Expectations are really important if you expect a meal to satisfy you then it probably will, if you expect it to leave you hungry, well the same applies.
This recipe helps to bulk out a meal in every sense of the word. It also tastes good. Crispy “seaweed” as sold in many Chinese restaurants is in fact Spring Greens finely shredded, deep fried and seasoned. This one is much the same but without the calories.
Ingredients and approximate cost
1/2 pack of Spring Greens finely shredded (50p)
Frylight or oil from a mister
Tsp course Salt
1/2 Tsp Sweetener or soft brown sugar
Pre-heat the oven as high as it will go, arrange the shredded cabbage onto a couple of baking trays making sure it is thinly spread. Spray with frylight, sprinkle with salt and place in the over for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes the edges will have dried out and turned slightly brown. Move it around so that the browner bits are in the middle and the green on the outside. Continue to cook and stir checking regularly until most of it is crisp but do not burn.
Removed from the oven, sprinkle with sweetener/sugar and stir again. Serve immediately.
Serves 4 total cost 50p. Calories per portion 35 per 100g raw cabbage if using sweetener
Ready for the oven
Variations
- use Kale or Savoy cabbage if preferred
- sprinkle with 5 spice powder if liked once cooked
- I love this served with fish or with a stir fry
Slimming World
Syn Free on all plans if you use sweetener.
Serves as part of a 300 calorie meal
Look at the picture above, can you imagine how small and unfulfilling this meal would be without the seaweed? The corn is also on the cob so there is maybe 2 tablespoons of actual corn kernels but much more fun to eat. It looks (and is) a proper plate full of food. A meal rather than a snack. It was also delicious.
Middle Class Value 